Fall Treats~

I love that my shop is often called upon to loan items for photo shoots…it gives us exposure and allows us to be a part of something bigger! 

I love the calls we get from the readers of all of these publications…it brings us people from all walks of life and every corner of the Untied States and then some. 

We share the common bond of loving and collecting beautiful things such as antique transferware!

Selfishly, I get to read the recipes in the magazines before a lot of you do because they send us early copies as a "Thank You" for letting them borrow our antique pieces. Therefore, when I see some that I think really look amazing I've decided to share them early with you!

(I love the way this tea pot photographed!)

 The cake stand above has sold since this was shot for Tea Time Magazine. 

I plan on finding more to add to the collections I carry at my shop…especially seeing how beautiful this *Salted Caramel Pound Cake looks on it!

*see recipe below

After reading this today at my shop it made me appreciate once again the reason I started my shop in the first place….

Collections!

The things that remind you of the past and give you something to share with those in your future! Your children and your grandchildren! Special friends and loved ones!

 I named my personal cookbook that I made for my family, "Collections". 

This is exactly the reason why I did!

 Enjoy the magazine when it arrives near you... 

~And definitely try out some of these amazing recipes~

My Beach Life….

Do you see what I see? And no…it's not a star! It's the date on this Coastal Living magazine! 2002!  That's how long I keep my favorite magazines and refuse to throw them out! Just two weeks ago we went to our beach house to replace a few things…while cleaning out I found this copy of the Coastal Living that was the inspiration to how I decorated our home at the beach.

I've always told my friends that once I decorate I hardly ever change anything! I still loved looking at this issue and I still loved how it inspired me! 

It may be over a decade old….but good design never changes!

I will never forget falling in love with antique sailboats.

 I still treasure the ones that I've collected since reading this issue!

In fact, all of my collections of  seashells, boats and even starfish are still near and dear to my heart thanks to this issue of Coastal Living.

Starfish on the window sills! 

My heart skipped a beat at this picture….

Of course I added them to my own decor!

(and I'm adding a huge apology here for the really bad quality of my pictures in this post!)

And so began my love for anything "beachy". 

Seaweed fabrics, starfish to decorate with…you name it!

My insane love for 'Seaweed Transferware' has literally made me famous! 

Or infamous, I should say! 

And it's not something that I feel like I'm being prideful about…rather, it's quite the opposite! 

 It is simply breathtaking to me!
 I think the feelings of nostalgia it evokes in me is why I love it so.  It brings back another era…and for some reason I think it is probably more appreciated by those that grew up on the East Coast.
 Not sure why I think that...

For a girl that grew up going to the beach in the panhandle of Florida I am mesmerized by the East Coast. I love the whole nature of their beach culture and their love of anything weathered! 

The pieces I've collected are so precious to me! 

And it was a lot of fun to finally have the fabrics I had picked out turned into pillows, window treatments and even chair cushions. 

All in all it was a fun combination of a dream come true as well as being able to work in my antique pieces that I hold so dear to my heart. 
We still enjoy it to this day….another decade later! 

Even my vintage collection of "Bathing Beauties" from the early 1900's are there!

As special as it was to bring all of my beloved beach collections to that house it was also fun to begin to collect some new things!~ Like art that we love from a local artist Donna Burgess. Her work is wonderful! We have several originals as well as some beautiful prints. I definitely need to incorporate some of my artists work from my shop in the near future!

No matter what you collect it should be a reflection of what you love…and hopefully that will only enhance the home you are filling.

I love that we were able to incorporate the old with new. I love that we've always collected items from places we have visited…like these shell prints from St. John. Memories were made there and will someday be someone else's treasured antiques perhaps!

For now, I'm just glad that I still love the 2002 Coastal Living article that fueled the fire so to speak! And I'm glad that my love for antiques can still be appreciated no matter what home we find ourselves in! This antique painting above is the perfect example of combing the old with the new…to me at least!

 It hangs in my daughter's bedroom at the beach and will always remind me of the time I fell in love with sailboats and all things "beachy"

Have a great rest of your week!

Wednesday's "What If's Post"…What If I Told You I Almost Cancelled My Own Party?

If you had asked me last week how I was feeling about hosting our annual Christmas Party I would've been quite honest and told you that I was absolutely dreading it…stressed out…wishing I could cancel it, trying to come up with a believable illness…you name it! Truth be told, I wasn't even all that fired up about Christmas or Christmas decorating! When you own a shop that begins selling and decorating for Christmas in October it really does take some of the joy away! ( which is why I love that picture above from Pinterest! It brings me joy!) In years past, it hasn't bothered me this much! ( I'm being very open here!) This year…it really did bother me and it also bothered me that I could absolutely not get excited about this party! Not to mention, I had menus galore swirling in my head but had no one to talk to about it because I didn't want them to know my frustrations!

I'm one of those people that wants everything to appear perfect and have it seem like it was nothing to host this dinner and then still be able to say,"Yes, we'd even love for you to come back tomorrow night for leftovers!" I really do wish I had that personality! But I most definitely do not! Then, I ran into one of the sweetest friends I've ever had…we were actually pregnant at the same time with our youngest sons…and our daughters were in each other's weddings, etc…etc…. She lost her husband just a couple of months ago to a rare form of eye cancer…I hadn't seen her since his incredible funeral and yet, we live 5 doors down from each other…

Really, Carolyn? Yes, really…I hadn't talked to her since the funeral because I'd been busy…it hit me like a ton of bricks that I would never, EVER be THAT busy again! We have three close friends that have lost either a spouse or a parent and this is their first Christmas without them…now THAT is something I need to be concerned about and not about my feelings of dread or inadequacy! 

When we talked, she told me how she was not in the Christmas spirit at all! I felt like I'd been hit by a mack truck…who was I to dread the holidays and think that life was so busy I couldn't even enjoy hosting a party for all of my best friends! This woman, this incredible woman is facing her first Christmas without her husband! She doesn't even feel like decorating! Imagine that! And here I was thinking I was the only one that felt like that!

I'm determined to get her into the Christmas spirit! Her four children will be here with her so I know that will help…but it's still not the same as it used to be! It never will be!

So, as I'm getting ready for the party this Saturday I thought I'd show you a couple of things we've put out so far and also be thinking of things to help those that are really hurting during this holiday season to get in the holiday spirit!…Keep in mind, no greenery is in place! It's been too hot to do that in Alabama until today! The high was 40 degrees! Now, I can bring in the greenery! 

One of the things I love most about Christmas is my collection of nativities…I love them for many reasons but the main one is that they represent the real, true meaning of Christmas! Just imagine them with a bit of lacy Smilax vine or some of my wonderful Cryptomeria draped on the mantels and tabletops as well! I will definitely post pictures after the party so you can see it.

I told you in a previous post that you can see HERE that I was doing all of the decorating myself for the first time in many years…I'm not doing a fabulous job, but it will do! And Jim is happy….

More Nativities!

And then we move to my collection of Nutcrackers! Wow, I collect a lot of things, don't I?

When I first opened Mulberry Heights Antiques…I went to an antique show and this Welsh Dresser was probably the first thing I ever bought thinking I would sell it…it's still in my sunroom! I don't EVER plan on selling it! I simply love it! I think I love it because it is simple and right now I love simple!

Here are a few more Nativities…most were given to me by another dear neighbor/friend, Michele! I love them and I treasure them! Michele lost her father suddenly just 3 weeks ago...

 And then, there is is this one… I love the little figures…even though we are missing two Wisemen! Jim's Aunt Martha gave this to us so many years ago when our children were very young! Now I love to have these out in my home in hopes that Layton will grow to love them and look forward to seeing them every year! Aunt Martha lost her husband ( Jim's uncle) to pancreatic cancer a couple of years ago…he was a Rock in our family…a true Gem…we miss him terribly but his legacy lives on!

I think about Aunt Martha and Uncle John every time I put this nativity out! I treasure it!

And my all time love is my collection of Caroler's that my mother adds to every year! Or at least she used to! I don't have room for any more of them, but I sure do love them!

 What do you love to collect? Is there a favorite Christmas decoration that you treasure? Is there one that stirs up those wonderful memories of long ago? Most of mine add up to one big memory and I love that! Great memories and wonderful traditions that involve family and friends are what make me really happy!

Hey, I guess that's why I'm having this annual party even though it's hard!

I will forever keep those memories of happy Christmases and family get togethers in my mind and in my heart…and even "heirlooms" like this music box brought to us from Jim's parents when they went to Germany…for some reason this thing stole my heart the moment they gave it to us and I've protected it like the Hope Diamond! For the life of me I can't figure out why except that it was a special memory that I never wanted to forget!

Just like these ornaments on my tree…the pictures of all three of my precious children…they hang in clusters on my tree…along with the ornaments they made me throughout their school age years…and I will Never Ever part with them! 

They will always hold the front and center part of my tree…they are my anchor! And now, I even have Layton's to add to that mix! Can you stand it?

Layton made us that crown last year in K-4!

 I feel like I should've warned you early on that this wouldn't be a short, care free post! But I'm so thankful you stopped by! I'm all for being honest and real these days! Kind of like showing you my decorations with no greenery…it is what it is!! 

And I know for certain that you will all be so kind to read this and think nice things…what I really want you to know is how much I've loved getting to know you and that I hope each of us truly enjoys the real meaning of Christmas! 

Do you know that Miller and I actually set out tonight to find a homeless man we saw as we came home from Costco today? After hearing WALES GOEBEL talk about BROTHER BRYAN I can't very well pass up someone that is cold…and hungry…we took him coats…but we couldn't find him tonight. We plan to go look for him tomorrow. We will keep you posted. I just love having Miller back for a little while! Even if it's a just a little while! What a sweetie! He takes after his older brother, Mitch! The sweetie of all sweeties…a then there's Holly…(we can't go there now!) Just know that I am proud of all three of them! And very thankful for the time to have Miller home and be a family again!

And I'm thankful to be getting ready for a party! I am blessed with many friends and I'm very excited about seeing them all!

 Just look at this cute group! I think all of them will be here this year as well! We shall see!

Much love to you and many wishes for you to have the Merriest of Christmases!